There are many ways to celebrate the holiday of Christmas. Decorating the house, traditions, baking delicious desserts, and putting up a big tree. A popular favorite to the culture is decorating gingerbread houses. The gingerbread house came from the Grimm’s fairy tale “Hansel and Gretel”. In the fairytale the children, Hansel and Gretel, find a house in the woods made of gingerbread and sweet treats. Making gingerbread originally came from Germany and expanded to America in Pennsylvania from the German settlers. Decorating gingerbread houses became a common tradition in the 1800’s from the popularity of “Hansel and Gretel.”

    There are many tips and tricks for a perfect gingerbread house.

1. Buy a pre-assembled house from places such as Michaels Craft Store, AC Moore craft store, or some common grocery stores.
2. When putting icing on your house, put any candies or decorations on before the icing hardens, that way they will stick much easier.
3. Use a piping bag and a fine tip to apply the icing. These can be purchased in the baking section at the grocery store and come with some gingerbread house kits. (Wilson brand gingerbread house kit)
4. Get creative! Use any sort of candy and foods to make it extravagant. (Shredded coconut for snow, small peppermint sticks for a walkway)
5. Fondant is a baking tool used for more advanced baking. It has a consistency like “Play-Doh”, so you can mold whatever you desire out of it. Fondant can be purchased at Michaels craft store and some grocery stores in the baking section.